Medieval castles in Switzerland

Romont Castle

A document from 1177 from the Abbey of Hauterive mentions the Romont as a wooded hill. In 1239, Anselme (or Nantelme) sold the rights to Romont hill to Peter II of Savoy. At that time, Romont was part of the territory of the Bishop of Lausanne. In 1240, Peter II sent a castellan to Romont to build a castle and found a village. The main castle (Grand Donjon), with a typical Savoy square floor plan, was completed befo ...

Founded: 1240 | Location: Romont, Switzerland

La Tour-de-Peilz Castle

Built in the 13th century by Pierre de Savoie, the castle of La Tour-de-Peilz served as a fortress and refuge, as an observation post of traffic along lake Geneva, and as a customs post. In 1476, during the Burgundy wars, it was heavily damaged. It was nearly three centuries later, that in 1747 the French officer Jean Grésier purchased and transformed the building. It remained private property until 1979, when the city ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland

Lenzburg Castle

Lenzburg Castle ranks among the oldest and most important of Switzerland. The castle stands on the almost circular castle hill, which rises approximately 100 m the surrounding plain. The prominent hill was already a settlement site in prehistoric times. For example, in 1959 a Neolithic gravesite was uncovered in the carpark. There have also been small discoveries from the Roman and Alemannic eras. The oldest p ...

Founded: c. 1100 | Location: Lenzburg, Switzerland

Tourbillon Castle

Tourbillon Castle was built sometime between 1290 and 1308 by the Bishop of Sion, Boniface de Challant, as his principal residence. After Boniface died in 1308, his successor Aymon II de Châtillon probably finished the castle. In 1352 the Upper Valais revolted against Bishop Guichard Tavel. Led by Peter de la Tour, in November of that year, they marched on Sion, burned the town and unsuccessfully besieged the castle. In ...

Founded: 1290-1308 | Location: Sion, Switzerland

Sasso Corbaro Castle

Sasso Corbaro, known as Unterwalden Castle after 1506 and Saint Barbara's Castle after 1818, is about 600 m south-east of town on a rocky hill. Unlike the other two castles Sasso Corbaro is not integrated into the city walls. The first part of the castle was the north-eastern tower which was built in 1478 to close a gap in the defenses of the city. In 1479 a small garrison was moved to the tower. During peacetime the tow ...

Founded: 1478 | Location: Bellinzona, Switzerland

Werdenberg Castle

Werdenberg castle was founded around 1228-1230 by Count Rudolf I of Montfort. Today, the architectural complex comprises two museums – one in the castle and one in the town – that tell the 800-year history of the rulers and their subjects. Three of the epochs – the times of the counts, the governors of Glarus and that of the well-to-do Hilty family – are effectively displayed in the castle. The Museum Schlangenhau ...

Founded: 1228 | Location: Werdenberg, Switzerland

Frauenfeld Castle

Frauenfeld castle was founded by the counts of Kyburg in the 13th century. The massive tower dates from 1227. The exhibit of the Thurgau History Museum in castle illustrates the time after 1415 that was so important for the region. It offers both children and adults an insightful and playful gateway to the Middle Ages. The modern arrangements, interactive animation and the artwork shining in new splendour are the highli ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: Frauenfeld, Switzerland

Aarau Castle

The small castle of Aarau ('Schlössli') has remained nearly unchanged since the 13th century. The 'Schlössli' is the oldest building in the city. It was already founded at the time of the establishment of the city shortly after 1200; the exact date is not known. Today it hosts a city museum.

Founded: c. 1200 | Location: Aarau, Switzerland

Chenaux Castle

Chenaux castle was built in 1392 by Chevalier Pierre and his brother Guillaume. Humbert, the bastard of Savoie, acquired the fortress in 1432 and completed it by an advanced defense. The castle was set on fire during the wars of Bourgogne. Today the castle of Chenaux is occupied by the prefecture but can be visited.

Founded: 1392 | Location: Estavayer-le-Lac, Switzerland

Saint-Maurice Castle

Started at the end of the 15th century, between 1476 and 1482, the construction of St-Maurice castle took place in several stages. They began by building a tower with doors, then a crenellated enclosure and guard towers. This led to the construction of the main body of the building and, at the beginning of the 16th century, a large retaining wall to which a new tower with a large ogival door was added. A fire destroyed ...

Founded: 1476 | Location: Saint-Maurice, Switzerland

Bischofszell Castle

Bischofszell castle was built in the 12th/13th century. It was damaged by the city fire in 1419 and repaired soon thereafter. During the 17th and 18th century the castle was expanded and totally renovated. The newly founded Canton of Thurgau took over the castle in 1798, but sold it in 1811 again. About 1838 the west part collapsed, and in 1843 the keep was broken up. Since 1930, the castle has been owned by the municipal ...

Founded: 1419 | Location: Bischofszell, Switzerland

Hallwyl Castle

Hallwyl Castle is one of the most important moated castles in Switzerland. It is located on two islands in the River Aabach, just north of the northern end of Lake Hallwil. Since 1925, it has been open to the public, and since 1994 it has been owned by the canton of Aargau and is part of the museum of Aargau. The first mention of the castle is in the year 1256. However, the originally free noble family of Hallwyl ...

Founded: 12th century | Location: Seengen, Switzerland

Arbon Castle

A castle in Arbon is first mentioned in 720 in a history of St. Gall Abbey. It stood on or near the site of the Roman era Arbor Felix fortress from 250 AD. After the Romans retreated south of the Alps around 400, the old fortress was abandoned. Sometime later a Frankish castle was built in Arbon probably for the Frankish royal family. By around 700, Arbon and presumably the castle, were the property of the diocese ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: Arbon, Switzerland

Kyburg Castle

Kyburg Castle overlooks the Töss river some 3 km south-east of Winterthur. The first fortification at this site was likely built in the second half of the 10th century by the counts of Winterthur. It is first mentioned in 1027 under the name of Chuigeburg ('cows-fort'), which name points to an original use as a refuge castle for livestock. The early castle was destroyed in 1028 or 1030 by emperor Conrad II. ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: Kyburg, Switzerland

Sargans Castle

Beginning in 982 the Sargans region was part of the lands of the Counts of Bregenz. In 1160, the male line of the Counts of Bregenz died out. Count palatine Hugo of Türbingen inherited most of their lands, through his wife Elisabeth. His son, Hugo, inherited the Bregenz lands around Lake Constance, including Sargans. This Hugo, who adopted the name Montfort und Werdenberg built or expanded Sargans Castle before ...

Founded: 1282 | Location: Sargans, Switzerland

Regensberg Castle

Either Lütold V von Regensberg or his son Ulrich established the fortified town of (Neu)-Regensberg around 1250. Ulrich died around 1280, and his son Lütold VIII had to sell Regensberg to Habsburg-Austria in 1302. The Habsburgs mortgaged the castle and town several times, and in 1407 the so-called Herrschaft Regensberg was acquired by the city of Zürich. From 1417 the castle became the seat of the bailiff of the ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: Regensberg, Switzerland

Greifensee Castle

The Counts of Rapperswil probably built a defense tower in the early 12th century on the site of today"s Greifensee Castle. The beginnings of Greifensee Castle, which was partially destroyed in May 1444 (during the so-called Old Zürich War), date back to around 1250. The castle complex consisted of a Palas on a rock , which at the time stood directly on the lake shore and was protected on the other sides by ...

Founded: c. 1250 | Location: Greifensee, Switzerland

Bulle Castle

The town of Bulle initially developed around its church which was, in 9th century, an ecclesiastical center of importance. The construction of the castle began certainly under the episcopate from Boniface (1231-1239). After the annexation of Bulle by the town of Freiburg, the castle became, since 1537, residence of the bailiffs". Since 1848, it is the seat of the Prefecture of the Gruyère and receives the Court, the ...

Founded: 1230s | Location: Bulle, Switzerland

Rolle Castle

In 1261, the Lords of Mont planned to build a city along the lake that would compete with the Aubonne and Saint-Prex. By around 1264, Rolle Castle was built to protect the pier at the lake. However, the planned city was never built by the Mont family. In 1291, the castle was in possession of Count Amadeus V of Savoy, who granted it to several different families as a fief. In the course of the rivalry between the Count ...

Founded: 1264 | Location: Rolle, Switzerland

Monthey Castle

Monthey Castle was built in the early 15th century by Duke of Savoy. It was damaged by fire in 1607. Today Monthay castle is a museum.

Founded: 15th century | Location: Monthey, Switzerland